We have finally made it to my final London Travel Guide! For my final post, I wanted to share a day trip we took from London that I highly recommend. As previously mentioned in my London Travel Guide (part 1), we booked all tours during our trip through Golden Tours. I found this extremely beneficial since you can visit their website to plan your tours/day trips ahead of time, which really helps organize your trip. I also enjoy how personalized you can make day trips. There are so many day trips with various mix and matched locations, which truly allows you to decide which places you want to visit. We decided to take a 10-hour day trip from London to visit three famous locations; Oxford, Windsor Castle, and Stonehenge. While there are many other day trip options available, I found this trip allowed us to visit three locations that we were personally most interested in.
Overview
One of the aspects I enjoyed the most about our day trip from London was how easy the entire day was. We did not have to worry about transportation, locating places, or even food. These are factors that I had to be concerned with during the rest of our trip, however, this day was different. Essentially, all we had to worry about was making it to the Golden Tours location early in the morning to catch our tour bus; the rest of the day was stress-free. This tour bus brought us to all of the locations, provided lunch and snacks throughout the course of the long day, and the tour guide on the bus shared interesting information along the way. Furthermore, I enjoyed how while there was a guided tour at each stop, you did not have to stay with the group if you prefered to go off on your own, and if you did stay with the group, they always provided "free time" to wander around before boarding for the next destination. As a whole, even though it was a long day traveling to each spot, it was very enjoyable.
1. City of Oxford/Oxford University
I was very interested in visiting the city of Oxford since not only is it home to a very well-known, prestigious university, but there are a lot of events that took place there. Our tour guide took us around the city and the university, providing us with interesting historical facts. For example, he showed us this marking on the ground in the middle of a street (pictured right), and shared how this is where some people were legally burned alive for heresy years ago...creepy, but still interesting to know! He also pointed out a couple of buildings that filmed scenes of the Harry Potter movies. Personally, I did not know scenes from Harry Potter were even filmed here until the tour.
After the tour of the campus and the surrounding city streets, we were provided some free time to wander around before boarding the bus for our next location. There were a ton of shops and cafes to explore. Of course, I needed to purchase an Oxford University tee!
2. Windsor Castle
This tour included a stop at Windsor Castle, which is a well-known royal family home. Even though this location was very crowded due to many tours and visitors, the castle grounds are so huge that it never felt overly crowded. We did need to wait on the "tour line" to get in, however, it went pretty quickly. I remember the castle was beautifully decorated, but unfortunately, photos/videos were not permitted within any buildings. Additionally, this location is still a working castle for the royal family, and we were informed that they do spend most weekends and holidays here, so some areas were closed off to the public. Furthermore, for those who do not know, Windsor Castle has hosted many royal weddings. Most recently, only a few months after we visited, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married in St. George's Chapel, which is located at Windsor Castle. I thought it was very cool to have gone into the church where the royal wedding would be held only a couple months after we visited. While I do not have too many pictures to share because of the strict "no photography" rule, it was definitely a unique experience.
3. Stonehenge
Although I thought all of the locations we visited on this tour were pretty awesome, I found Stonehenge to be the coolest location to visit. Throughout my schooling experience, I vividly remember learning about Stonehenge more than once. It was amazing to be able to actually go see one of the most famous prehistoric, mysterious landmarks in person. Stonehenge is located in a pretty remote area of England, which was definitely a change of scenery during our trip. The parking lot itself is located pretty far away from the landmark itself, but you can choose to either walk the rest of the way to the site, or take a shuttle that runs every ~5 minutes that gets you a little closer.
We decided to take the shuttle to Stonehenge first since we were excited to see it. Essentially, there is a giant circular path going all around the landmark, along with some information boards. Although Stonehenge is of course roped off to be preserved as best as possible, you do get pretty close to it in certain areas. After walking around, taking pictures, and learning more about the famous landmark, we made our way back down to the parking lot area. Next to the parking lot, there is a Stonehenge Exhibition, a gift shop, and some Neolithic houses. We took some time to explore this area and learn more about the mysterious landmark. As a whole, I found this part of our trip to be very fascinating. As I said before, it was amazing to see this famous landmark in person. If you ever visit England, this is a must see spot!
I hope reading about my day trip from London helped you determine if a day trip is for you if/when you visit. As I mentioned, even though it was a very long travel day, it was amazing to be able to see some well-known locations outside the city of London. I would definitely recommend at least one day trip to anyone who visits. Since this is the last part of my London Travel Guide, I hope this little 3-part series helped you plan your own trip to London! If you ever visit, let me know if I missed out on anything. I will definitely be looking for any excuse to visit London again!🤗🇬🇧
Many more adventures to come,
Ashley
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